BY: FREEDOM IN EDUCATION

DeKalb County Public Schools (DCPS) in Georgia ran a student voter initiative where they partnered with a left-wing nonprofit organization, Rock The Vote (RTV) to register students to vote and bus them to the polls. Ultimately, 834 students were registered, 21 school buses were filled with 88 school chaperones to usher students to 17 early voting locations with a detailed transportation plan. Freedom In Education (FIE) sent Freedom of  Information Act Requests (FOIA) which revealed emails that showcase what a massive effort this was over several months at the high schools, and then lower grades for mock registrations and elections, guest speakers and community organizations coming in. 

The effort included several assemblies, as well as coordinators looking up each eligible students file at mvp.sos.ga.gov, as well as a continued monitoring of students voting registration files. This was then utilized by the outside organizations to assist in getting students IDs for voting. To be perfectly clear, this was not a simple table set up in the lunchroom for kids to register, this was a very extensive coordinated effort to target unregistered students and coerce them into registering through assemblies, meetings and more. 

Furthermore, records requests uncovered that Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a 501 (c)(7) also known as D4Women, donated $6,500 to pay for the transportation to and from the voting locations. D4Women is a social welfare and advocacy organization which promotes civic betterments and social improvements for the surrounding community- they are specifically focused on supporting black and brown candidates and social justice issues surrounding those communities. They have publicly endorsed Democratic candidates such as Collin Allred of Texas, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware. 

It is important to note that many voting resources available in the United States come from non-profit organizations that claim to be ‘non-partisan’ such as RTV. However, these organizations have their own agendas, funders, and boards of directors. 

Rock the Vote has been influencing voting information using media, technology, and culture since its inception in 1990. Since then they have been highly controversial and far left-leaning, including launching a lawsuit against President Trump in 2020. In 2022, they received consulting services from GSD POLITICAL, which provided services for the “Hillary for America” campaign, which resulted in $104,000 in compensation. Despite purporting non-partisanship they openly promote LGBTQIA+ rights, Black Lives Matter (BLM), as well as condemning January 6th 2020 as an ‘assault on democracy’ right on their website. 

It’s important to also dig into who exactly is running their organization: 

DeRay McKesson: Director 

• Led Violent Black Lives Matter protests 
• Believes in Whiteness, White Supremacy, and Privilege
• Plays a significant role in multiple social justice organizations such as Black Lives Matter, Campaign Zero, and Mapping Police Violence
• Hosts a podcast called “Pod Save the People” where he discusses issues on Justice, Equity, and identity 

Michael Skolnik

• Helped create “Soze,” a social justice organization

Amanda Brown Lierman

• Served as the Organizing Director for the Democratic National Committee
• Former Barack Obama staff member 
• “Just as I have committed to rebuilding our party from the ground up, I’m also deeply dedicated to putting together the best team possible to lead our party,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez.  “The new additions to our leadership will play an essential role in reaching our goal of electing Democrats up and down the ballot, from the school board to the Senate. We have a tough fight ahead of us, but I have full confidence that every single one of these women and men are ready for the challenge to get our country back on the right track.” Tom Perez Adds to DNC Senior Leadership Team – Democrats

Teja Smith Foster 

• Another Consultant who serves as the social media Director founded Get Social in 2020 after recognizing the need for women of color to take control of the space for social justice. 
• The agency was created as a safe space for women of color to continue their fight for people’s rights and work in an environment where they are trusted, heard, and uplifted daily. Since then, Get Social’s work with political organizations like Rock The Vote and She The People has placed both brands as the leading organizations facilitating a successful election in 2020. 
• Their work with foundations and organizations across the country has had an impact on the ongoing pandemic, voting rights, climate justice, and criminal justice reform. We are a powerhouse, growing bigger and stronger as the months pass.
• This has resulted in $115,000 compensation.

It’s extraordinarily clear that this effort preyed on young students that were eligible to vote, which in Georgia is 17 and ½ or older at the time of registration and usher them to the polls. Critics have also mentioned that DCPS and RTV were not monitoring immigration or legal status in this process. FIE has not obtained any such documents to prove that, but has had several whistleblowers who have come forward with such allegations. The fact that this occurred in DeKalb as well, whose superintendent is Devon Horton, a former Chicago superintendent who has come under fire for his radical left-leaning ideology, is no surprise.